Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Director John Everets Acquires 1,310 Shares

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director John Everets acquired 1,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.40 per share, with a total value of $28,034.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 142,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,049,585.60. This represents a 0.93% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Eastern Stock Performance

Shares of EML opened at $21.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 3.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.18 million, a P/E ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 0.87. Eastern Company has a 52 week low of $17.61 and a 52 week high of $26.77.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $59.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.74 million. Eastern had a return on equity of 5.46% and a net margin of 2.41%.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Eastern’s payout ratio is currently 45.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,293,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Eastern by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 23,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 9,753 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eastern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Eastern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Eastern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Eastern Company Profile

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML), based in West Haven, Connecticut, is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in secure hardware and metal finishing services. The company operates through two primary segments: Industrial Hardware Products and Security Products, complemented by a Metal Coatings division. Its Industrial Hardware Products segment produces cold-headed fasteners, forgings, hinges and precision components for heavy commercial vehicles, hydraulic cylinders and industrial machinery.

The Security Products segment designs and manufactures a wide range of lock and latch solutions, including padlocks, door hardware, cabinet locks and rental security towers for commercial and institutional applications.